The winter chill heavily set in as the little beans she had just given birth to become old enough to begin their lives in Ashen. The last few weeks had been nothing but heaven on earth. Despite the lack of sleep and exhaustion that came with raising four new lives Venom couldn’t describe herself as anything less than the happiest she had ever been. Her vision remained plagued by darkness, and by now her hope of it becoming restored was waning. She might not ever see her puppies, but she could feel them and more importantly feel the love they shared.

Of course Maverick was stepping into fatherhood much better than he had anticipated. The first month of their lives was easy, they couldn’t go very far and the most important job was keeping their bottomless bellies full. They taught them how to speak, who they were, and told stories of the world outside. The time went by much more swiftly than she remembered from the first go around, but she treasured every precious moment. All too soon they were ready to be released from the confines of their safe and warm home.

One day they could choose their own schedule, but for now the puppies should have been accustom to living a nocturnal lifestyle. Though Venom didn’t know by sight, it was very close to the full moon. They would be illuminated by its cool light as they took their first steps outside. Tonight was the big night, no matter how much their mother would have liked to delay that fact. As she awoke to them curled against her belly, and Maverick holding her and them. The quiet moments before everyone woke up meant the world to her, and as she began to stir it was easy to nuzzle into her mate’s cheek. Nothing could bring her down from the high that came from what he had given her.

"Venom & Maverick"

Rebel's jaws stretched wide in a yawn as her mother's gentle touch started to pull her from sleep, magenta eyes slowly being revealed from behind fluttering blue eyelids. "Ten more minutes..." she muttered as she rolled over, flopping mostly on top of Rogue in the process. Just as she was stretching out among the pile of her siblings with her brother as a pillow, she started to remember that tonight was the night that they were promised that they would get to go out of their den and see all the stuff they had only heard about that was outside of here. That was enough to at least warrant her peeking an eye open, peering up at her parents curiously. Rolling back to her belly, she looked between them before crawling over Rogue and Rampage to get to her father, climbing up his shoulder to reach up to his ear. "Do we get to go outside today?" she whispered to him so she wouldn't tip off her other siblings too soon, but just the idea of it had her tail wagging fast behind her—likely enough to wack one of her brothers across the nose or ear.

"Rebel Klein"

Little sounds and movements weren’t enough to fully wake up Ram but it was enough to take him from that deeper sleep to something in that murky between sleeping and awake.  Reality and imagination blurred to make a dreamy world.  The sleepy pup’s tail raised and lowered a few times.  Something caught his attention in his dream, the tail stopped and the nose started twitching.  

Rebel had passed by Ram without signs of the boy waking to realize it.  Rampage’s eyelids flickered, and a vicious snarl started in the back of the tiny pup's throat! There was a giant rabbit nearby in his dream world and Ram’s legs twitched as he stalked it.  In his dream, it was much easier than he’d find in real life.  As Rebel whispered in dad’s ear her sleep-hunting brother made his move.  The boy’s front paws jerked with his imagined lunge, his teeth snapped at empty air and the boy’s eyes opened.  Hey!

Rampage sat up looking about him with a huff.  There was no rabbit here.  Just his sleeping parents and sleeping siblings.  Change that, they weren’t all asleep. Turning his head to get a better look at Rebel with dad earned Ram a swat of Rebel’s tail whacking him in the face.  Ram’s ears pinned back in irritation and doing what any reasonable pup who just woke up would do.

“Rebel!” The boy barked loudly and indignantly, charging in to repay a tail to the face with a pinching bite to an ear if she didn’t avoid it.

The young boy slept heavily, adapting to his mother’s nocturnal lifestyle with ease. He’d never known anything beyond the way life was. You slept during the day and came out at night. This came as an added benefit with the deserts that were so close to them. Navigating the heat of the days was much easier at night, but that was an adventure for the future. The puppies hadn’t even set paw outside the den yet. The young prince didn’t even realize what his paws craved. For now paramount was the warm snuggly feeling of being here in the family cuddle pile.

Ren slept heavily until his siblings started to move around at least. He didn’t know who’s paw it was but he got one to the face and completely woke himself up. Startled by the swift kick to his little face Renegade jumped up, adrenaline flowing, and light lavender eyes blinked back the rest of the sleep that fogged his vision.

Momma was leaned back into their Poppa’s massive sleeping frame as Rebel whispered in his ear and Ram barked at her. If Renegade hadn’t already been awake he would have after Ram’s outburst. When he realized he wasn’t actually being attacked Ren plopped down onto his tush, wondering if it was true that they would be let out into the wild today.

"Renegade Klein"

Rogue had been lost in the comforting abyss of a deep puppy sleep, snoring his little head off as dreams of running through big open fields beneath a star-laden sky filled his mind. So deeply was the boy sleeping that he didn't even acknowledge his mother's gentle nudging to stir them, continuing to sleep like the dead. He did, however, notice when the heavy weight of his sister flopped over on top of him. The sudden weight on his round belly made the boy grunt in groggy confusion, his sunset purple eyes blearily blinking open to peer around the darkness of their home and the few rooms they had come to know in their short lifetime. The little navy and ebony prince glowered at his sister, but was willing to let bygones be bygones and go back to sleep—until Rebel began to scramble over top of him in her mad hurry to get to their parents, clambering all over him with tiny paws pressing into various parts of his body. He yipped and snapped at Rebel's tail, swatting tiny paws at her as she went by with a super intimidating puppy growl for good measure.

"Rebel! Get offa me!" he snapped at his obnoxious sister. But as if that wasn't enough, suddenly he had her whiplike tail smacking him in the nose while she whispered something to their father. That was it! Rampage, also seeming to have enough of their irritating sister, sprung up to go for Rebel's ear. Rogue, on the other paw, focused on a much closer target. Rolling to sit up, the Klein prince aimed his tiny muzzle for Rebel's wagging tail, aiming to snap down around the base and grab his sister by the appendage that had violated his personal space one too many times now. If he managed to grab her tail, the boy would immediately begin to pull and yank her back into the puppy pile, where he and Rampage could overpower her and get their juvenile revenge.

Life as a father had been a huge wakeup call for the once-vagabond. Maverick, who had at one point in his life truly believed he would spend the better part of his days rambling and roaming as a lone wolf, was now responsible for safeguarding and caring for four tiny little puppy lives. He and Venom had created something beautiful and incredible together, and though stepping into fatherhood had required a lot of patience, faith, and humility from the man, he wouldn't have traded away these days for anything else in the world. With Venom's assistance and confidence in him, Mav had found himself flourishing as a father. His mate could still no longer see, and since there was no guarantee she would ever regain her eyesight again, the dire wolf had taken it upon himself to act as both parents' eyes while learning the ropes of parenthood. So far, he had managed to keep all of them alive, which felt like a success in of itself!

Late autumn had shifted into early winter, and with it the chill of the changing seasons and light snowfalls had come early on in the colder months. Time flew by like leaves in the wind faster than he realized, and before he knew it, the four little wolf loaves Venom had given birth to had grown into proper puppies, eager and ready to play and fight and explore their world. As twilight crept its way over Boreas and darkness replaced the graying light of the winter days with night, the time had finally arrived to let loose the newest generation of Klein royalty upon the unsuspecting Ashen Empire. The royal family was still soundly asleep tucked away in the warmth of their bedchambers of the palace, Maverick sleeping just as deeply as ever, if not more so with how exhausting keeping up with a quartet of hyperactive pups was! He didn't rouse when Venom began to stir, only finally grumbling awake when he felt his Empress' slender muzzle move to brush along the side of his cheek, her tender affections pulling him from slumber in the most pleasant of ways—okay, the second most pleasant of ways. Mav could think of one better way to be woken up, but that wasn't feasible with a bundle of children still nestled between them.

"Mmrrfph... Morning, gorgeous," he mumbled with his eyes still closed, his forearm giving Venom's midsection a little loving squeeze while he held her and their pups, his larger body curled around theirs to shelter them. The familiar warm bliss of contentment was the first emotion Maverick felt upon waking up, and although it had become a daily habit for months now, he never took a single day of getting to wake up to his beloved and their family for granted. While beginning to doze off again, the sound of grumbly fighting puppies caught his attention. One teal eye slowly peeked open, spotting Rebel climbing over her brothers to get to him. Her whispered question brought a little knowing smirk to the sire's lips, and he gave a hum of amusement as he lifted his head to meet her at eye level. "Hmm, y'know, I think it might be that day... What do you think, Mom?" He turned the question to Venom, leaning in to nibble gently at her ear with a bit of a roguish grin on his face.

And speaking of rogues, out of the corner of his eye Mav spotted Rogue and Rampage gearing up for a surprise attack on their sister. "Better think fast, Bel," he said with a snicker as his boys began their ambush, letting the three wrestle it out while he and Venom woke up properly to begin preparing their pups for their first trip outside. Shifting to sit up some more, Mav spotted Renegade also looking bleary-eyed like he'd just been abruptly woken up to. The giant sire smiled and reached a large paw out to ruffle his son's forehead fluff and ears. "Have a good sleep, Ren? You ready to go outside today?"

"Venom & Maverick"

Venom never had the intention to compare the life she had now, and the one she had with Hattori. She had loved him once, and her sense of honor was too high for her to harbor ill will towards him. She didn’t change her mind that he had made a terrible decision in leaving her, but that moment in her life had opened the door for this. Venom would never love her older children any less, they were the absolute light of her life, it was just that the newest litter now shared that love and adoration. The difference was how supportive and involved Maverick was compared to Hattori.

Maybe it was that she didn’t have her sight, or maybe he was just a much better father than he had ever expected to be. Either way, Venom was deeply proud of her mate and the family that they made together. As she slowly awoke her love, her subtle movements were not enough to keep from waking the young puppies they were wrapped around. Mav squeezed her lightly as he mumbled his greeting and the children began to move.

Rebel was the first, breaking the spell over her brothers and they began to move around as well. Venom couldn’t see them but she could feel their antics as they tumbled and climbed around her belly. The feeling of little paws in her fur made her grin as the puppies concerned themselves over their father. After little Bel’s not so quiet whisper, Mav turned the question to her. Already Venom planned to bring them outside tonight, as the rumor had already spread through the young litter of puppies. Her grin widened as she teased, "I don’t know… Don’t you think one more day?” Of course she wouldn’t make them wait another day, that was an eternity to a young puppy. Plus, with the snow, she had her doubts they would want to be out in the cold for very long.

As Maverick unwound himself from her Venom followed his lead and lifted herself as well, still heavily leaning against him. "I suppose it depends on how well everyone can listen.” She offered a gentle hint, expecting the puppies to line up in attention at their mother’s request.

"Venom & Maverick"

The excited wagging of her tail did indeed connect with the face of one of her brothers, earning her an irritated shout from Rampage in the process and some fussing and snapping from Rogue and all of that had Renegade hopping up... So much from trying to get the inside scoop before her brothers woke up! Still, she managed to ask her very important question to her father and got just the answer she was hoping for, giving him a bright grin and more excited wags in response–which of course just meant she was hitting Rogue in the face even more. Their father's warning about thinking fast made her ears perk and she twisted around just in time to see Rampage jumping toward her. She bounced out of the way, which really more equaled tumbling and hopping instead of a more graceful leap that she might have when she was older. Either way, it got her out of the reach of her brown-hued brother and she gave him a boastful grin in response. Before she could celebrate too much though, she felt sharp puppy teeth on her tail and she yelped as she was suddenly getting pulled around by Rogue instead. Scowling and yelling, "Hey! Let go of my tail!" Rebel twisted and curled around to bat at Rogue's face and muzzle with her paws to make him cut it out.

She missed the comment their mother made about keeping them in one more day in amongst her wrestling with her brothers, but after Mom sat up she did take note of the emphasis on something depending on whether they were listening or not. That got her attention and she immediately pushed Rogue away and scrambled up to her paws. She definitely didn't want anything getting in the way of them getting to go outside! She quickly gave herself a shake to get rid of the ruffled up tuffs of fur that were sticking up in weird places from her wrestling, smoothing her white and navy fur back out again and almost knocking herself off of her feet in the process, and then plopped herself down on her butt in front of her parents. "Okay, Momma!" she said eagerly, waiting anxiously to be told they could go.

"Rebel Klein"

Despite his penchant for falling asleep first his siblings were up and rowdy far too early for the young boy. He blinked open his bleary eyes and shook out his dawn starred pelt. Another yawn parted his pink jaws as he stretched his mismatched toes and revealed the crystal claws on each digit. He straightened, bleary-eyed, but with no lack of entertainment. He watched as his brothers tagged team an assault on their little sister.

Jaw slightly agape as his sire turned his attention from his troublemaking siblings to him. Placing a huge paw on his head as he tousled his pale fur. Ren was maybe the strangest colored of his siblings. His Klein genes mixed with those of the man that raised him, causing the blue to shift to the lightness of the sky before sunrise.

The puppy’s attention was quickly shifted from sleepy baby, to exuberant wiggler as Maverick mentioned the outside. He wasn’t sure he had believed Rebel, "I am ready ready to go outside.” He answered excitedly, but then there was his mother’s voice as well. As long as they would listen… The little prince came to attention, ears perking and his cloudy tail curling up over his back as he rushed to his mother’s paws, presenting himself as a very good listener who deserved to go outside.

"Renegade Klein"

Rampage missed his target!  He scowled as Rebel got away from his attack.  Clearly, it had been a well-planned escape versus just a falling rush to escape.  Dad got that puppy scowl for letting her know though the scowl changed to a happy grin a moment later and then quickly looked back to Rebel with thoughts of following up with another attack in his mind.  Going outside would be wonderful but there was the pride of winning!

Ram had been turning to follow his sister’s path when dad’s words caught up to him, stalling his planned attack as the wheels in his mind turned.  Was he more focused on whacking his sister or going outside?  Bah, Rampage scrunched up, read to spring with the plan of getting his sister first and then outside right after.  Then mom mentioned the terms of going outside.  The pup’s eyes shifted to Rebel, face squishing up and he almost chose to try his luck with a full out puppy attack brawl with the assumption he’d still get to go out anyway later.

Ram huffed, then did a quick change of plan and went to sit next to his siblings in front of mom.  Pure innocent eyes looked up at her.  Rebel was forgotten as his mind tried to imagine what it was like outside.  As he started imagining it his tail twitched and the farther along he got the faster it started sweeping the floor. “We can listen mom, really well, really really well!” In case this was all or nothing Ram imagined he should make it a team effort to look good.

Success! Rogue's tiny puppy snout closed down around Rebel's wiggly tail, capturing his sister's appendage in his grasp. She might have been able to avoid Rampage, but she couldn't beat both brothers at the same time! Growling in response to Rebel's demand for freedom, the mostly dark blue pup stood his ground and kept a hold of the tail in his mouth, refusing to give up even an inch to his sister. "Nuvah!" he exclaimed, his words muffled by the fur in his mouth, flinching against the bats of Rebel's paws against his forehead and giving a little shake of his head to drag her rump around on the bedding. In all the commotion, Rogue had also missed their mother's comment about needing to behave and listen, so when Rebel began to look away again he felt victory was assured! Then she pushed him away with a swift kick and bounded off to present herself before their parents.

"Hey!" remarked the little Klein prince, narrowed amethyst eyes leering at his sister as he scurried to his paws and clambered over to join his siblings before their parents. Coming up alongside Rebel, the mischievous little boy shot his sister a wicked smirk and took a seat just behind her, "accidentally" planting one of his paws on her tail to pin it down under his rump as he took a seat. Nobody got the better of Rogue Klein! Puffing up his chest, Rogue smiled up at his mother and father, eyes bright and face wearing the most innocent expression he could while he awaited further instructions. Today was the day they'd finally get to go outside for the first time! Er... first night they'd get to go outside, he supposed. "We can listen, Mama! We're good at that!" Behaving though, that was a different question.

"Rogue Klein"

Venom teasingly mused if they should keep their pups cooped up for one more day and the reaction from their hyper children was palpable! All at once, the fighting trio came to an abrupt stop as they scurried to present themselves like the perfect little angels they were before their parents. No misbehaving here, none at all! Maverick turned a smirk to his children, shooting Rebel and Rogue and especially scrutinizing glance when his son came up and sat down on his sister's tail, earning a reprimanding look from his sire. "AND how well they behave," he qualified in addition to Venom's request for attention, turning his pointed glance to Rogue in particular, who sheepishly tried to slide his butt off of Rebel's tail like he hadn't just been sitting on it.

Mav nodded his head. "That's better. Now, I know we're all excited to go outside, but remember to listen to the ground rules and do as you're told. First things first, your mother and I are in charge, okay? If we tell you to do something or not to do something, you listen. No arguing, no whining, okay?" Knowing just how much of himself went into making these puppies, Maverick knew how rambunctious and rebellious this quartet could be. Outside was fun and exciting, but if they were reckless it could be dangerous too. Mav then looked over to his cuddled up mate, giving her the floor to lay her ground rules for this big day as well.

"Venom & Maverick"

Absolute chaos broke out as three of four puppies began to tussle and bite at each other. It was a behavior that no one was going to stop, that she knew was true. The crazy puppies could be as rambunctious as they desired, as long as their little puppy ears were ready to hear and listen to their parent’s voices. It seemed that at least three of four puppies could heed her warning, as Rogue brought up the rear, barely paying any attention as his sights were set on Rebel. Again, Venom would find herself thankful for the partnership that she had with her husband to be. He was a much better father than he had ever given himself credit for and he backed Venom up as he reminded the pups that behavior was as important as their ability to listen.

Venom grinned and nuzzled Mav’s cheek briefly as the puppies got into position, sitting at her paws, maybe not as disciplined as little soldiers. They were very well put together for a gaggle of young pups ready to go outside for the first time. Mav was good at wrangling the pups because he was one of the pups. He knew how mischievous and rowdy they could and would be. Predicting their movements before they even knew what they were going to do. He was a top rate father, and Venom loved him for it.

"I know everyone is very excited,” she started as Mav gave her the floor. She tried to be brief and concise, a puppy's attention span was only so long. Especially with such a treat before them. "You need to stay within sight of me and dad. Do not put anything you find in your mouth. Do not go into water, and only scream if you are in danger.” She knew the last one was pushing it, they were going to be having a right fit with enjoyment. Mav would have to keep his eyes especially peeled. Not that she thought they would get particularly far away. This was a family outing after all.

"Alright, if everyone understands…” She paused waiting for confirmation and to allow Mav to add any other rules before Venom stood up. "Lets go outside.” She grinned and led the way out through the cave system to reveal the darkened night beyond. The moon was full enough that light would filter through into the dark cold forest for the puppies to see everything.

"Venom & Maverick"